Organic Shmanic
April 21, 2007 4:03 AM Subscribe
I'm introducing my baby to solid foods (making most myself). Where will I get the most "bang for my buck" in terms of organic produce?
Does it make sense to always get organic, or is it a waste of time with certain foods? I'm thinking of the similar nitrate-in-carrots thing, wherein organic carrots may have nitrates, and jarred carrots do not.
Does it make sense to always get organic, or is it a waste of time with certain foods? I'm thinking of the similar nitrate-in-carrots thing, wherein organic carrots may have nitrates, and jarred carrots do not.
Leafy vegetables and soft vegetables that grow above ground have a greater ability to absorb pesticides, plus they can't successfully be washed off. I personally prefer to buy from smaller concerns because I just don't trust large corporations to be dedicated to organic (especially bird-friendly, since birds are excellent insect kilers both in the country and in the city) farming practices.
But to be honest, making purees yourself from even the most expensive type of vegetables is likely cheaper than buying those little jars of pureed veg. One jar of name-brand strained carrots may contain one large carrot - for $1.49? Even the priciest organic carrots I've seen cost less than that. Plus you know you're not putting sugar or any potential allergens (if your child has them) or excessive salt in, and you're not using the woodiest vegetables around (like some companies do).
By the way, I have a friend who makes the purees, freezes them in ice cube trays, pops the cubes into a bag after freezing, then thaws one or two for every meal. That way she always has puree in hand and doesn't have to muck up the blender every day or two. Freezing in a deep freeze (as opposed to a fridge freezer) tends to conserve both flavour and nutrients better than sitting in the fridge, too.
posted by watsondog at 4:46 AM on April 21, 2007
But to be honest, making purees yourself from even the most expensive type of vegetables is likely cheaper than buying those little jars of pureed veg. One jar of name-brand strained carrots may contain one large carrot - for $1.49? Even the priciest organic carrots I've seen cost less than that. Plus you know you're not putting sugar or any potential allergens (if your child has them) or excessive salt in, and you're not using the woodiest vegetables around (like some companies do).
By the way, I have a friend who makes the purees, freezes them in ice cube trays, pops the cubes into a bag after freezing, then thaws one or two for every meal. That way she always has puree in hand and doesn't have to muck up the blender every day or two. Freezing in a deep freeze (as opposed to a fridge freezer) tends to conserve both flavour and nutrients better than sitting in the fridge, too.
posted by watsondog at 4:46 AM on April 21, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks, folks. FYI, I am making most baby food myself, with the exception of cereal, carrots, and beets.
posted by DenOfSizer at 5:55 AM on April 21, 2007
posted by DenOfSizer at 5:55 AM on April 21, 2007
This won't be much help for the next few weeks, but you might consider joining a community supported agriculture program, if there's one near you. (Link goes to Just Food's CSAs in New York.) They run from June through October; you pay at the beginning of the season, then get a share of the locally raised, organic produce once a week. I still supplement from the greenmarkets (schedule and map available here) and stores like Trader Joe's, but during the growing season, most of what I eat comes from the CSA. It's much cheaper than the equivalent at a retailer, and because it's picked shortly before you get it, it lasts longer in your fridge.
posted by vetiver at 6:12 AM on April 21, 2007
posted by vetiver at 6:12 AM on April 21, 2007
We did the pureed-vegetables-in-the-ice-tray trick and it worked great for us. We have a kid who loved (and loves) sweet potatoes, which were easy to bake, scoop, and mash.
We get a lot of our produce from an organic delivery service called Greenling, and supplement that with Saturday trips to a farmers' market. The Greenling service is a little more expensive than a grocery store, but we're making up for this by being ruthlessly efficient with our menus.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:08 AM on April 21, 2007
We get a lot of our produce from an organic delivery service called Greenling, and supplement that with Saturday trips to a farmers' market. The Greenling service is a little more expensive than a grocery store, but we're making up for this by being ruthlessly efficient with our menus.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:08 AM on April 21, 2007
Oh, and Mrs. spikelee recommends reading Super Baby Food. There's a ton of helpful info in there. Also, if you have friends with kids around the same age you can share foods. It's easy to make four pounds of potatoes, give three away, and get three pounds of assorted foods.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:16 AM on April 21, 2007
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:16 AM on April 21, 2007
Best answer: I have been thinking along the same lines, Den. Here is a website which might help you decide which produce you choose based on the pesticide load, if it comes down to that. Keep in mind that, to my knowledge, "organic" is highly variable from product to product and FDA cannot just test all substances that may render a product non-organic. Sometimes, nutrition wise it makes more sense to buy fresh produce from a local market (which is using conservative but controlled methods of agriculture) than to buy organic which has been stored for long periods and transported over long distances. YMMV.
Some points for small kids foods: feed the whole family organic, not just the kids. Be very careful of farm raised seafood even if it is called organic -I avoid it entirely. Read up about organic milk. Check on the nutritional effect of different cooking methods: go raw, steemed, baked and very rarely fried. Finally, I personally vary brands regularly, even certified organic, so that I avoid accumulation of substances found in each.
Other good threads on the topic: here, here and elsewhere on AskMe.
posted by carmina at 7:28 AM on April 21, 2007
Some points for small kids foods: feed the whole family organic, not just the kids. Be very careful of farm raised seafood even if it is called organic -I avoid it entirely. Read up about organic milk. Check on the nutritional effect of different cooking methods: go raw, steemed, baked and very rarely fried. Finally, I personally vary brands regularly, even certified organic, so that I avoid accumulation of substances found in each.
Other good threads on the topic: here, here and elsewhere on AskMe.
posted by carmina at 7:28 AM on April 21, 2007
I notice you're in NYC, so -- good odds you don't have a big fat yard, but. If you're up for some container gardening, it would be reasonably easy to grow what you want to purée; it's not as though you'd need huge quantities, after all.
I had quite a bit of success years ago growing veg in plastic-lined milk crates in a sort of closed-off mini courtyard I could only access from a bathroom window. Anything's a potential garden, and keeping it all (relatively) indoors means keeping it organic is super-easy.
(Just a thought. And, thanks for asking, says this currently-pregnant poster.)
posted by kmennie at 10:48 AM on April 21, 2007
I had quite a bit of success years ago growing veg in plastic-lined milk crates in a sort of closed-off mini courtyard I could only access from a bathroom window. Anything's a potential garden, and keeping it all (relatively) indoors means keeping it organic is super-easy.
(Just a thought. And, thanks for asking, says this currently-pregnant poster.)
posted by kmennie at 10:48 AM on April 21, 2007
"99.99% of the pesticides we eat are naturally present in plants to ward off insects and other predators. Half of these natural pesticides tested [during the usual high-dose testing] are rodent carcinogens. Reducing our exposure to the 0.01% of ingested pesticides that are synthetic is not likely to reduce cancer rates."
Organic food is generally a waste of money. It's a way to price-discriminate against rich yuppies with more dollars than sense.
posted by commander_cool at 11:47 AM on April 21, 2007
Organic food is generally a waste of money. It's a way to price-discriminate against rich yuppies with more dollars than sense.
posted by commander_cool at 11:47 AM on April 21, 2007
How old is your baby? I think the nitrate concern is only valid for babies younger than 6 months, and doubly so if you use the same water in which you steam carrots.
If it hasn't been mentioned already, this site is a fabulous resource online for making your own food. We have made chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes (one large sweet potato will yield at least a tray and a half of food), carrots, green beans, acorn squash, butternut squash (this one will make at least 2 trays!), pears and apples. It's fun!
posted by cajo at 3:57 PM on April 21, 2007
If it hasn't been mentioned already, this site is a fabulous resource online for making your own food. We have made chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes (one large sweet potato will yield at least a tray and a half of food), carrots, green beans, acorn squash, butternut squash (this one will make at least 2 trays!), pears and apples. It's fun!
posted by cajo at 3:57 PM on April 21, 2007
Sorry for the derail, but I'm thinking you might not want to put too much into your plans for homemade baby food until you see what your baby likes. We found that our now-14-month-old pretty much refused baby food of any kind until recently. Rice cereal, applesauce, pureed anything, mashed avocados and bananas -- all rejected. Since she was breastfeeding (still is), I tried not to stress about what nutrition she was getting from food and let her try anything we were eating that was moderately soft or able to be cut into small pieces. She especially liked meat (like pot roast) from ages 8-11 months or so. Only now has she come back around and will tolerate being spoonfed applesauce and yogurt -- still no squash puree though! So, I guess this leans toward the "feed the whole family organic" line of reasoning. Your baby may be eating table food sooner than you think.
posted by libraryhead at 8:59 AM on April 23, 2007
posted by libraryhead at 8:59 AM on April 23, 2007
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posted by Hankins at 4:15 AM on April 21, 2007